New ESPN documentary recalls Raiders’ turbulent years in Los Angeles

If you’re someone like me — a Bay Area sports junkie who grew up living and dying with the silver and black — some of the saddest words to ever be spoken are “the Los Angeles Raiders.” Those 13 years the team spent in La-La Land are a bad memory that you just try to block out.

But for rap artist Ice Cube, they represented the glory years — a time when he not only formed an unbreakable bond with the team, but when he and his buddies in N.W.A. helped to turn the Raiders into a worldwide fashion brand by constantly donning the silver and black on MTV and elsewhere.

Ice Cube directed and narrated “Straight Outta L.A.,” a new ESPN documentary that recalls the Raiders’ turbulent years in SoCal. The film is filled with interviews with Raider greats like Howie Long and Marcus Allen, as well as the perspectives of rappers, cultural critics, journalists and even old Al Davis.